Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
Last night I truly scared myself with my anxiety and raging obsessive thoughts. I woke from sleep at 3 am which seems to be the witching hour for me. I had to get up at 6 am for work and laid awake in anxiety until after 5. For the first time ever I was actually thinking that death felt like a better alternative than the hell I am feeling. I could envision myself driving my car in front of a big transfer truck on my way to work... it was so scary because at the same time I was thinking it I was scared that I would actually do it in a moment of weakness and hopelessness. I know my life is not hopeless and I am making moves to improve my life but this kind of obsessive thinking really scares me and I'm not sure what to do about it. I rarely sleep through the night and seeing 3 am is becoming like a curse; it happens way too often and is the most likely time that I will become anxious and obsessive. Can anyone give me some tips on how to deal with this. I'm fine during the day, sometimes sad and down but not obsessive like this. Short of drugging myself so I'll sleep all night I don't know what to do.
I've been dealing with this for years. I wake up every morning between 3 - 4 and have to be up at 6 for work. I've been reading the book "Say Goodnight to Insomnia" by Gregg Jacobs. It's done pretty good with helping me to sleep through the night about half the time, and when I do still get up, I'm usually back asleep within a half hour or so.
My docs have prescribed me everything from Rozeram, to Lunesta, Trazadone, and Ambien. It either doesn't help me stay asleep, or it makes me sleep too long. I pretty much avoid the stuff anymore, but I hope that you find something that works for you!
As for dealing with it... I have to have something interesting to read. I leave a good book by my bed and if I can't sleep, I just crack it open and start reading. Or I jump online and chat. I usually try reading first though, because often I'll get sleepy again while reading.
Another thing - I could not get through the night without waking up until I got on a good med cocktail to break the cycle. I also made sure to follow all the good "sleep hygiene" rules, like keeping the room very dark, not watching tv in bed, and going to bed at the same time every night. Also be sure you're wearing the most comfortable pajamas you own. Even though that may sound silly, I find that if I wear pajamas that aren't completely comfortable, I'm much more likely to wake up in the middle of the night.
Ok back to the med cocktail that broke my cycle...
0.5 mg Xanax (at bedtime)
25 mg metoprolol (in the am and pm)
10mg flexeril (at bedtime)
This was enough to keep me asleep for a minimum of 6 hours. I did sometimes sleep longer, but I preferred handling the occasional daytime sleepiness, to handling the constant lack of sleep. At the time I was also on 20mg of Lexapro, daily. My doctor tried me on Lunesta, but it didn't keep me asleep. I just woke up and felt like an anxious zombie in a weird hypnotic state.
These days, I don't need anything to sleep. I occasionally have a round of insomnia, but it doesn't last more than a day or two and I'm back to sawing logs every night. And thank God for it. I turn into super-wacko-freak if I don't get enough sleep for several days in a row.
Best of luck to you. Anxiety-driven insomnia is a real bizach to deal with. At least it was for me!